The Scottish Premier League's riling, simultaneously, of Rangers and Celtic supporters would be notable if it was not so easy to do. The league's recent announcement about penalties for clubs in administration or who seek to re-enter the setup as a new company – a "newco" – unsurprisingly triggered the kind of concerted mouth-frothing that Old Firm followers specialise in.

The outline of the fresh financial fair play model is thus: on 30 April, the SPL's clubs will decide whether to accept a proposal that would result in clubs entering an insolvency event – administration – being docked 15 points or a third of their total at that time.

More newsworthy is the step to punish newco clubs by 10 points at the start of two consecutive seasons, with 75% of SPL revenue also held back from those sides for three years.

Such matters directly relate to Rangers' current predicament. The upshot? Rangers' followers believe these punishments would be wildly unfair, while those of Celtic are indignant about the likelihood of their city rivals, post liquidation, being allowed back into the SPL. Dispassionate analysis, as ever, is at an absolute premium.

When the SPL was established, courtesy of a breakaway by clubs from the earlier league format, commercialism was at the root of the move. During the intervening 14 years, nothing has changed.

Against that backdrop, it is bizarre that people believe anything other than balance sheets would act as a motivating factor for SPL decision-making. This league, remember, is run entirely by its member clubs. Those clubs, against widespread discontent from fans, voted through a recent extension to their main broadcasting deal simply on the basis of guaranteed income. Being blunt, they care about little else and Rangers have a clear commercial worth. With that in mind, it has never seemed anything other than remote that Rangers would not be allowed to continue as a top-flight club if – and it remains if – they are liquidated and have to reform.

Other elements of this Rangers saga remain unproven. Those who point quite adamantly – and routinely excitedly – towards the club's historic use of employee benefit trusts and allegations of dual contracts for players do so before formal judgments have been made.

What is certain for now is that Rangers failed to meet VAT and PAYE requirements over the course of this season. Directly through that, they have been plunged into administration and will miss out on European football next season. There is a legitimate debate to be had as to whether any prize monies for Rangers finishing second in the SPL should be paid in full, given the monetary advantage this policy, of the previous owner, Craig Whyte, gave them over clubs below them in the division.

The SPL needs to be careful in the message it sends out to its members. If liquidation is seen as a soft, short-term option, a number of other clubs carrying heavy debts could edge towards following Rangers' lead. That possibility, quite clearly, would have implications for how favourably banks were willing to deal with these businesses.

Still, the public discord of Rangers' administrators is difficult to fathom. They seem to object to the SPL's attempts to legislate on newco clubs, claiming this will impact on the ability to find Rangers a new buyer. Just as it is not the league's job to assist with that, there would be an understandable complaint if punishments were put in place after a newco was formed. And there would have to be a punishment, despite the ludicrous attempts of the would-be Rangers owner Bill Miller to seek assurances to the contrary.

The notion that a liquidated Rangers would somehow be getting away scot-free is flawed. Any newco would miss out on three years of European competition as per Uefa rules in a further blow to their hopes of securing meaningful income streams. Rangers would start two seasons with a points deficit that would essentially hand Celtic the league before a ball has been kicked; against such a backdrop, which players would be attracted by a move to Ibrox? These aren't sympathetic arguments, they represent stark reality.

Some Rangers fans would rather their team were jettisoned to the Third Division than play a clear second best to their oldest adversaries for the foreseeable future. Nothing whatsoever in this Rangers situation has pointed to Celtic being denied that smooth domestic run in the short-term.